US Men’s Soccer Out of Running for Olympics
Credit: Unsplash
Once again, the US team is on the bench.
It’s no secret that, compared to the rest of the world, the United States has never taken soccer especially seriously. You can tell by the fact that we’re one of the only countries that actually calls it “soccer,” as opposed to the majority of the world calling it “football.” Even so, the US has its teams, and they are Olympic-grade. Or at least I’m sure they would be Olympic-grade if they ever got the chance to prove it, but sadly, that ain’t happening this time.
On Sunday, the US men’s national soccer team competed against the Honduras team for a chance to play at the Olympics (whenever the Olympics end up being). Unfortunately, the US team was very much not on their A-game, as a stoppage time score from Honduras’ Juan Carlos Obregon and a whiff from the States’ goalkeeper David Ochoa served them up a 2-1 loss. With this loss, the US team is officially out of the running for the Olympic games, with Honduras going in their stead.
“Obviously, we’re devastated, absolutely devastated,” US team manager Jason Kreis said after the game. “In our locker room, the guys are like it’s a tragedy — a tragedy.”
“We lose an opportunity to play in an international tournament with more pressure, where these players have to be in these environments and continue to improve with that pressure.”
ABSOLUTE DISASTER FOR THE U.S. as David Ochoa’s blunder gives Honduras a 2-0 lead 🥺
— International Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) March 28, 2021
This will be the third Olympic games in a row where the US team won’t be competing. The US soccer team hasn’t been in the Olympics since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and even then, they only placed ninth. On the bright side, after France has their turn to host the Olympics in 2024, it’ll be the United States’ turn to host in 2028, so the US team will qualify automatically. Granted, it probably doesn’t feel great to get into the Olympics on a freebie, but at least they’ll get to play.
